A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for mixing powdered or granulated material with a stream of liquid, and more particularly to an apparatus for introducing an additive into a drilling mud system.
B. Description of the Prior Art
During the drilling of oil and gas wells, it is often necessary to perform tour treatment of the mud system. The goal of tour treatment is to introduce relatively small quantities of additives uniformly throughout the mud system to change the chemical and physical properties of the mud. The additive should be introduced continuously and at a uniform rate into the mud system in order to provide the desired uniformity. In actual practice, however, tour treatment is performed by a rig crewman, who periodically deposits some quantity of additive into the suction pit where it is mixed to a limited extent with the mud and circulated into the bore hole. The present method of tour treatment fails to provide the desired uniformity.